Create, read, and edit Excel files in WPF
22 Jul 202624 minutes to read
.NET Excel Library for WPF platform can be used to create, read, and edit Excel files. It can also convert Excel files to PDF.
NOTE
This article uses the
Syncfusion.XlsIO.WpfNuGet package, which targets the .NET Framework WPF platform. For .NET Core / .NET 5+ / .NET 6+ / .NET 8+ WPF apps, use theSyncfusion.XlsIO.Net.Corepackage instead.
Create a simple Excel report
The following steps show how to create a simple invoice-formatted Excel document in WPF.
Step 1: Create a new C# WPF Application project.
Step 2: Install the Syncfusion.XlsIO.Wpf NuGet package as a reference to your .NET Framework applications from NuGet.org. The package requires .NET Framework 4.5 or later.
NOTE
Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion® assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, you also have to add “Syncfusion.Licensing” assembly reference and include a license key in your projects. Please refer to this link to know about registering Syncfusion® license key in your applications to use our components.
Step 3: Add the following code to the MainWindow.xaml file to add a button for generating the Excel document.
<Grid>
<Button Content="Create Excel" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="309,172,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="124" Height="46" Click="Button_Click"/>
</Grid>Step 4: Add the following namespaces in the MainWindow.xaml.cs file.
using Syncfusion.XlsIO;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;
using System.Windows;Imports Syncfusion.XlsIO
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.IOStep 5: Add the following code in the Button_Click event handler to create the Excel document.
//Create an instance of ExcelEngine
using (ExcelEngine excelEngine = new ExcelEngine())
{
IApplication application = excelEngine.Excel;
application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Xlsx;
//Create a workbook
IWorkbook workbook = application.Workbooks.Create(1);
IWorksheet worksheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];
//Add a picture
FileStream imageStream = new FileStream("AdventureCycles-Logo.png", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
IPictureShape shape = worksheet.Pictures.AddPicture(1, 1, imageStream, 20, 20);
//Disable gridlines in the worksheet
worksheet.IsGridLinesVisible = false;
//Enter values to the cells from A3 to A5
worksheet.Range["A3"].Text = "46036 Michigan Ave";
worksheet.Range["A4"].Text = "Canton, USA";
worksheet.Range["A5"].Text = "Phone: +1 231-231-2310";
//Make the text bold
worksheet.Range["A3:A5"].CellStyle.Font.Bold = true;
//Merge cells
worksheet.Range["D1:E1"].Merge();
//Enter text to the cell D1 and apply formatting.
worksheet.Range["D1"].Text = "INVOICE";
worksheet.Range["D1"].CellStyle.Font.Bold = true;
worksheet.Range["D1"].CellStyle.Font.RGBColor = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189);
worksheet.Range["D1"].CellStyle.Font.Size = 35;
//Apply alignment in the cell D1
worksheet.Range["D1"].CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignRight;
worksheet.Range["D1"].CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignTop;
//Enter values to the cells from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range["D5"].Text = "INVOICE#";
worksheet.Range["E5"].Text = "DATE";
worksheet.Range["D6"].Number = 1028;
worksheet.Range["E6"].Value = "12/31/2018";
worksheet.Range["D7"].Text = "CUSTOMER ID";
worksheet.Range["E7"].Text = "TERMS";
worksheet.Range["D8"].Number = 564;
worksheet.Range["E8"].Text = "Due Upon Receipt";
//Apply RGB fill color to the cells from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range["D5:E5"].CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189);
worksheet.Range["D7:E7"].CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189);
//Apply known colors to the text in cells D5 to E8
worksheet.Range["D5:E5"].CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White;
worksheet.Range["D7:E7"].CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White;
//Make the text bold from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range["D5:E8"].CellStyle.Font.Bold = true;
//Apply alignment to the cells from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range["D5:E8"].CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignCenter;
worksheet.Range["D5:E5"].CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignCenter;
worksheet.Range["D7:E7"].CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignCenter;
worksheet.Range["D6:E6"].CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignTop;
//Enter a value in cell A7 and apply formatting
worksheet.Range["A7"].Text = " BILL TO";
worksheet.Range["A7"].CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189);
worksheet.Range["A7"].CellStyle.Font.Bold = true;
worksheet.Range["A7"].CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White;
//Apply alignment
worksheet.Range["A7"].CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignLeft;
worksheet.Range["A7"].CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignCenter;
//Enter values in the cells A8 to A12
worksheet.Range["A8"].Text = "Steyn";
worksheet.Range["A9"].Text = "Great Lakes Food Market";
worksheet.Range["A10"].Text = "20 Whitehall Rd";
worksheet.Range["A11"].Text = "North Muskegon,USA";
worksheet.Range["A12"].Text = "+1 231-654-0000";
//Create a Hyperlink for e-mail in the cell A13
IHyperLink hyperlink = worksheet.HyperLinks.Add(worksheet.Range["A13"]);
hyperlink.Type = ExcelHyperLinkType.Url;
hyperlink.Address = "[email protected]";
hyperlink.ScreenTip = "Send Mail";
//Merge column A and B from row 15 to 22
worksheet.Range["A15:B15"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A16:B16"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A17:B17"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A18:B18"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A19:B19"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A20:B20"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A21:B21"].Merge();
worksheet.Range["A22:B22"].Merge();
//Enter details of products and prices
worksheet.Range["A15"].Text = " DESCRIPTION";
worksheet.Range["C15"].Text = "QTY";
worksheet.Range["D15"].Text = "UNIT PRICE";
worksheet.Range["E15"].Text = "AMOUNT";
worksheet.Range["A16"].Text = "Cabrales Cheese";
worksheet.Range["A17"].Text = "Chocos";
worksheet.Range["A18"].Text = "Pasta";
worksheet.Range["A19"].Text = "Cereals";
worksheet.Range["A20"].Text = "Ice Cream";
worksheet.Range["C16"].Number = 3;
worksheet.Range["C17"].Number = 2;
worksheet.Range["C18"].Number = 1;
worksheet.Range["C19"].Number = 4;
worksheet.Range["C20"].Number = 3;
worksheet.Range["D16"].Number = 21;
worksheet.Range["D17"].Number = 54;
worksheet.Range["D18"].Number = 10;
worksheet.Range["D19"].Number = 20;
worksheet.Range["D20"].Number = 30;
worksheet.Range["D23"].Text = "Total";
//Apply number format
worksheet.Range["D16:E22"].NumberFormat = "$0.00";
worksheet.Range["E23"].NumberFormat = "$0.00";
//Enable automatic increment of cell references when assigning a formula to a range
application.EnableIncrementalFormula = true;
worksheet.Range["E16:E20"].Formula = "=C16*D16";
//Formula to sum the total
worksheet.Range["E23"].Formula = "=SUM(E16:E22)";
//Apply borders
worksheet.Range["A16:E22"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop].LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin;
worksheet.Range["A16:E22"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom].LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin;
worksheet.Range["A16:E22"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop].Color = ExcelKnownColors.Grey_25_percent;
worksheet.Range["A16:E22"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom].Color = ExcelKnownColors.Grey_25_percent;
worksheet.Range["A23:E23"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop].LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin;
worksheet.Range["A23:E23"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom].LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin;
worksheet.Range["A23:E23"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop].Color = ExcelKnownColors.Black;
worksheet.Range["A23:E23"].CellStyle.Borders[ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom].Color = ExcelKnownColors.Black;
//Apply font setting for cells with product details
worksheet.Range["A3:E23"].CellStyle.Font.FontName = "Arial";
worksheet.Range["A3:E23"].CellStyle.Font.Size = 10;
worksheet.Range["A15:E15"].CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White;
worksheet.Range["A15:E15"].CellStyle.Font.Bold = true;
worksheet.Range["D23:E23"].CellStyle.Font.Bold = true;
//Apply cell color
worksheet.Range["A15:E15"].CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189);
//Apply alignment to cells with product details
worksheet.Range["A15"].CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignLeft;
worksheet.Range["C15:C22"].CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignCenter;
worksheet.Range["D15:E15"].CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignCenter;
//Apply row height and column width to look good
worksheet.Range["A1"].ColumnWidth = 36;
worksheet.Range["B1"].ColumnWidth = 11;
worksheet.Range["C1"].ColumnWidth = 8;
worksheet.Range["D1:E1"].ColumnWidth = 18;
worksheet.Range["A1"].RowHeight = 47;
worksheet.Range["A2"].RowHeight = 15;
worksheet.Range["A3:A4"].RowHeight = 15;
worksheet.Range["A5"].RowHeight = 18;
worksheet.Range["A6"].RowHeight = 29;
worksheet.Range["A7"].RowHeight = 18;
worksheet.Range["A8"].RowHeight = 15;
worksheet.Range["A9:A14"].RowHeight = 15;
worksheet.Range["A15:A23"].RowHeight = 18;
//Save the Excel document
workbook.SaveAs("Output.xlsx");
workbook.Close();
imageStream.Dispose();
}'Create an instance of ExcelEngine
Using excelEngine As ExcelEngine = New ExcelEngine()
Dim application As IApplication = excelEngine.Excel
application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Xlsx
'Create a workbook
Dim workbook As IWorkbook = application.Workbooks.Create(1)
Dim worksheet As IWorksheet = workbook.Worksheets(0)
'Add a picture
Dim imageStream As FileStream = New FileStream("AdventureCycles-Logo.png", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)
Dim shape As IPictureShape = worksheet.Pictures.AddPicture(1, 1, imageStream, 20, 20)
'Disable gridlines in the worksheet
worksheet.IsGridLinesVisible = False
'Enter values to the cells from A3 to A5
worksheet.Range("A3").Text = "46036 Michigan Ave"
worksheet.Range("A4").Text = "Canton, USA"
worksheet.Range("A5").Text = "Phone: +1 231-231-2310"
'Make the text bold
worksheet.Range("A3:A5").CellStyle.Font.Bold = True
'Merge cells
worksheet.Range("D1:E1").Merge()
'Enter text to the cell D1 and apply formatting.
worksheet.Range("D1").Text = "INVOICE"
worksheet.Range("D1").CellStyle.Font.Bold = True
worksheet.Range("D1").CellStyle.Font.RGBColor = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189)
worksheet.Range("D1").CellStyle.Font.Size = 35
'Apply alignment in the cell D1
worksheet.Range("D1").CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignRight
worksheet.Range("D1").CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignTop
'Enter values to the cells from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range("D5").Text = "INVOICE#"
worksheet.Range("E5").Text = "DATE"
worksheet.Range("D6").Number = 1028
worksheet.Range("E6").Value = "12/31/2018"
worksheet.Range("D7").Text = "CUSTOMER ID"
worksheet.Range("E7").Text = "TERMS"
worksheet.Range("D8").Number = 564
worksheet.Range("E8").Text = "Due Upon Receipt"
'Apply RGB fill color to the cells from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range("D5:E5").CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189)
worksheet.Range("D7:E7").CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189)
'Apply known colors to the text in cells D5 to E8
worksheet.Range("D5:E5").CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White
worksheet.Range("D7:E7").CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White
'Make the text bold from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range("D5:E8").CellStyle.Font.Bold = True
'Apply alignment to the cells from D5 to E8
worksheet.Range("D5:E8").CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignCenter
worksheet.Range("D5:E5").CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignCenter
worksheet.Range("D7:E7").CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignCenter
worksheet.Range("D6:E6").CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignTop
'Enter a value in cell A7 and apply formatting
worksheet.Range("A7").Text = " BILL TO"
worksheet.Range("A7").CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189)
worksheet.Range("A7").CellStyle.Font.Bold = True
worksheet.Range("A7").CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White
'Apply alignment
worksheet.Range("A7").CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignLeft
worksheet.Range("A7").CellStyle.VerticalAlignment = ExcelVAlign.VAlignCenter
'Enter values in the cells A8 to A12
worksheet.Range("A8").Text = "Steyn"
worksheet.Range("A9").Text = "Great Lakes Food Market"
worksheet.Range("A10").Text = "20 Whitehall Rd"
worksheet.Range("A11").Text = "North Muskegon,USA"
worksheet.Range("A12").Text = "+1 231-654-0000"
'Create a Hyperlink for e-mail in the cell A13
Dim hyperlink As IHyperLink = worksheet.HyperLinks.Add(worksheet.Range("A13"))
hyperlink.Type = ExcelHyperLinkType.Url
hyperlink.Address = "[email protected]"
hyperlink.ScreenTip = "Send Mail"
'Merge column A and B from row 15 to 22
worksheet.Range("A15:B15").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A16:B16").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A17:B17").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A18:B18").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A19:B19").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A20:B20").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A21:B21").Merge()
worksheet.Range("A22:B22").Merge()
'Enter details of products and prices
worksheet.Range("A15").Text = " DESCRIPTION"
worksheet.Range("C15").Text = "QTY"
worksheet.Range("D15").Text = "UNIT PRICE"
worksheet.Range("E15").Text = "AMOUNT"
worksheet.Range("A16").Text = "Cabrales Cheese"
worksheet.Range("A17").Text = "Chocos"
worksheet.Range("A18").Text = "Pasta"
worksheet.Range("A19").Text = "Cereals"
worksheet.Range("A20").Text = "Ice Cream"
worksheet.Range("C16").Number = 3
worksheet.Range("C17").Number = 2
worksheet.Range("C18").Number = 1
worksheet.Range("C19").Number = 4
worksheet.Range("C20").Number = 3
worksheet.Range("D16").Number = 21
worksheet.Range("D17").Number = 54
worksheet.Range("D18").Number = 10
worksheet.Range("D19").Number = 20
worksheet.Range("D20").Number = 30
worksheet.Range("D23").Text = "Total"
'Apply number format
worksheet.Range("D16:E22").NumberFormat = "$0.00"
worksheet.Range("E23").NumberFormat = "$0.00"
'Enable automatic increment of cell references when assigning a formula to a range
application.EnableIncrementalFormula = True
worksheet.Range("E16:E20").Formula = "=C16*D16"
'Formula to sum the total
worksheet.Range("E23").Formula = "=SUM(E16:E22)"
'Apply borders
worksheet.Range("A16:E22").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop).LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin
worksheet.Range("A16:E22").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom).LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin
worksheet.Range("A16:E22").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop).Color = ExcelKnownColors.Grey_25_percent
worksheet.Range("A16:E22").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom).Color = ExcelKnownColors.Grey_25_percent
worksheet.Range("A23:E23").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop).LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin
worksheet.Range("A23:E23").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom).LineStyle = ExcelLineStyle.Thin
worksheet.Range("A23:E23").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeTop).Color = ExcelKnownColors.Black
worksheet.Range("A23:E23").CellStyle.Borders(ExcelBordersIndex.EdgeBottom).Color = ExcelKnownColors.Black
'Apply font setting for cells with product details
worksheet.Range("A3:E23").CellStyle.Font.FontName = "Arial"
worksheet.Range("A3:E23").CellStyle.Font.Size = 10
worksheet.Range("A15:E15").CellStyle.Font.Color = ExcelKnownColors.White
worksheet.Range("A15:E15").CellStyle.Font.Bold = True
worksheet.Range("D23:E23").CellStyle.Font.Bold = True
'Apply cell color
worksheet.Range("A15:E15").CellStyle.Color = Color.FromArgb(42, 118, 189)
'Apply alignment to cells with product details
worksheet.Range("A15").CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignLeft
worksheet.Range("C15:C22").CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignCenter
worksheet.Range("D15:E15").CellStyle.HorizontalAlignment = ExcelHAlign.HAlignCenter
'Apply row height and column width to look good
worksheet.Range("A1").ColumnWidth = 36
worksheet.Range("B1").ColumnWidth = 11
worksheet.Range("C1").ColumnWidth = 8
worksheet.Range("D1:E1").ColumnWidth = 18
worksheet.Range("A1").RowHeight = 47
worksheet.Range("A2").RowHeight = 15
worksheet.Range("A3:A4").RowHeight = 15
worksheet.Range("A5").RowHeight = 18
worksheet.Range("A6").RowHeight = 29
worksheet.Range("A7").RowHeight = 18
worksheet.Range("A8").RowHeight = 15
worksheet.Range("A9:A14").RowHeight = 15
worksheet.Range("A15:A23").RowHeight = 18
'Save the Excel document
workbook.SaveAs("Output.xlsx")
End UsingA complete working example to create an Excel file in WPF in C# is present on this GitHub page.
By executing the program, you will get the Excel file as below.
Read and Edit Excel file
The following code snippet illustrates how to read and edit an Excel file in WPF. Make sure a file named Sample.xlsx exists in the project’s bin\Debug folder (set its Copy to Output Directory property to Copy if newer in the Visual Studio project).
//Create an instance of ExcelEngine
using (ExcelEngine excelEngine = new ExcelEngine())
{
//Instantiate the Excel application object
IApplication application = excelEngine.Excel;
//Set the default application version
application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Xlsx;
//Load the existing Excel workbook into IWorkbook
IWorkbook workbook = application.Workbooks.Open("Sample.xlsx");
//Get the first worksheet in the workbook into IWorksheet
IWorksheet worksheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];
//Assign some text in a cell
worksheet.Range["A3"].Text = "Hello World";
//Access a cell value from Excel
var value = worksheet.Range["A1"].Value;
//Save the Excel document
workbook.SaveAs("Output.xlsx");
workbook.Close();
}'Create an instance of ExcelEngine
Using excelEngine As ExcelEngine = New ExcelEngine()
'Instantiate the Excel application object
Dim application As IApplication = excelEngine.Excel
'Set the default application version
application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Xlsx
'Load the existing Excel workbook into IWorkbook
Dim workbook As IWorkbook = application.Workbooks.Open("Sample.xlsx")
'Get the first worksheet in the workbook into IWorksheet
Dim worksheet As IWorksheet = workbook.Worksheets(0)
'Assign some text in a cell
worksheet.Range("A3").Text = "Hello World"
'Access a cell value from Excel
Dim cellValue As Object = worksheet.Range("A1").Value
'Save the Excel document
workbook.SaveAs("Output.xlsx")
workbook.Close()
End UsingA complete working example of how to read and edit an Excel file in WPF in C# is present on this GitHub page.
Click here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion® Excel library (XlsIO) features.
An online sample link to create an Excel document in ASP.NET Core.